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Monday, January 30, 2012

☞ REVIVE: New 2066 Fifth Avenue Revealed

The boarded up building at 2066 Fifth Avenue had a lot of construction happening on site this past year but it was soon revealed that a new building would replace the older one. A couple of Bespoke readers have recently taken photos of this corner by West 127th Street this past weekend and the facade has now finally been revealed. Check out the photo after the jump.

It would have been nice to have the older building restored but the final design of the new arrival does an okay job at trying to be modern and contextual. Large casement windows make the standard balcony layout a little more interesting than usual and the brickwork has some pattern work to it which is quite interesting. One would have to guess that this would be a new condo development but we have not found out much about how this building will be marketed in the future. Any tips?

I think it would be OK if they had been working with a vacant lot. But tearing down that existing facade for this is unconscionable. Why couldn't they have just retained the existing and added a few floors?

I wrote a letter to the NYC Landmark Preservation with the attempt to save 2066's facade before they remove it. They wrote me back stating that 2066 was not protected and neither is the entire block, very scary thought!!

D, agreed, Harlem is a treasure trove of architecture and one of the great features of Harlem are the unbroken blocks of period buildings that one development like this can permanently destroy. Landmarking could have prevented this tragedy.

Liked the old look, but it's all about the windows. Nice huge windows now and that's the trend with new or converted buildings. So unless there was a block because of landmark status, it wouldn't make any financial sense for a developer to keep the same, smaller, early 20th Century windows.

Like Chris, I believe that new does not necessarily equal bad. It's hard to imagine that most of the posters on this thread would find any contemporary design acceptable. I expect those huge windows, which seem to indicate two-story rooms, will be a huge selling point. i'm a fan of blending old and new in Harlem. Row upon row of brownstones can become like looking at an ancient subdivision.

I would have preferred an updated carbon copy of the old, but that probably was impossible and didn't make sense for a developer. It's not like there aren't other "eyesores" on the block. Check out the few larger, 1940's buildings on the east side of Fifth between 125th and 128th. Kinda hideous in their own right.

When I scrolled down and saw the "after" picture, I shrieked. This is an abomination. Pity the poor owners who live next door. In any other neighborhood, this would kill the property values. But we know there's nothing that can put a stake in the heart of NYC real estate!

My 2 cents: I often love the juxtaposition of more stark modern with traditional architecture (example: Windows on 123 http://harlembespoke.blogspot.com/2011/07/dwell-windows-on-123-lofts-debut.html), however in this case it is all wrong. The "modern" is not truly modern here. It is attempting to be contextual while also being "modern", but ends up failing in both regards. That is why I typically loathe the idea of "contextual" architecture because it ends up being the lowest common demoninator and no one is pleased(slap some brick on it and keep it the same height and call it contextual - blah).

Good modern architecture can and should co-exist peacefully with traditional architecture, however this is not good modern architecture.

To each his own. Obviously, at least one professional architect, and probably more. agree with those who like this building, and as a near- neighbor, I welcome it to our neighborhood where Beaux Arts, Gothic and circa -2012 modern co-exist.

Modern architecture can startle, like the Louvre Pyramid for example. 2066 Fifth is not great architecture, it rises to the level of a cheap Ikea desk and I expect it to age similarly, all that is missing are the fedders units.

I certainly agree that 2066 is not great architecture or fabulous. I also clearly remember that when the Louvre Pyramid was built, it was called an abomination and an eyesore by many. Enough from me, the non-architect, on this subject.

I see a lot of comments like they should have saved what was there, how do we know they did not try? Maybe the facade could not be saved. Either way give this building 8 years and it will be considered a wonderful addition to the block that is simply how life goes.

I live in a building that people said was the ugliest thing ever built and now all I hear people say is we love that building, it's so different etc.